Ready to hit every high note

Shi Yijie, president of the Shanghai Opera House, the city's premier opera performance company, also speaks excitedly about the opera."Der Rosenkavalier belongs to the most authentic repertoire of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera)," he tells the media. Seeing the show in Shanghai, "on your own doorstep, is perhaps the only opportunity in five, or even 10, years", he says.

A few weeks ago, Shi, an international award-winning tenor, visited the SGOH before its completion. Intrigued by the outstanding acoustic environment in Harmony Hall, he sang the renowned aria Nessun Dorma from Turandot. "As a singer, when you hear the echo of your own singing coming back beautifully mellow to your ears, you immediately know you are in a great opera hall," he says.

Aside from the Shostakovich Symphonies Cycle, German pianist Rudolf Buchbinder and one of the oldest orchestras in the world, Staatskapelle Berlin, will present the Beethoven Piano Concertos Cycle in the Soar Theatre on Nov 7 and 9. Throughout his 60-plus-year career, Buchbinder has built his repertoire centered on Beethoven. He has performed the complete piano sonata cycle over 60 times.

Pianist Yuja Wang, one of the most beloved Chinese musicians today, will also play in the SGOH's new season. She will present two concerts with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra on Nov 13-14 in Harmony Hall.

Zhu Jiejing, a renowned dancer and vice-chairman of the China Dancers Association, is particularly excited for the Eifman Ballet resident program from St. Petersburg, Russia, taking place at the Soar Theatre from Dec 11 to 20.

"All of Eifman Ballet's productions, in whatever Chinese city, sold out like hot cakes," she says. "Being audience members in Shanghai, we are so lucky to have the company here for the opening season of the SGOH. You can see all the shows without fighting for a ticket."

The Eifman Ballet will perform three acclaimed literary adaptations: Eugene Onegin, Anna Karenina, and the Shanghai debut of Crime and Punishment, based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel.

Zhu will lead the performance of the dance drama The Eternal Wave on Jan 15-16. "I hope we can bring more original productions to the SGOH and engage in artistic dialogues with artists worldwide."

Ode to the Red Flag, a symphonic chorus composed by Lyu Qiming about love for the country, the Party, and a celebration of the great Chinese Revolution, will be the first piece in the opening concert of the SGOH on Oct 17. The opera gala Shanghai Grand Opera House and Friends will bring together leading opera artists from home and abroad, featuring three conductors: Zhang Guoyong, former president of the Shanghai Opera House; Yu Long, music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; and Xu, artistic director of the Shanghai Opera House.